Nick Chester Linked To Senior Technical Role At Williams Team

Former Renault Formula 1 chassis technical chief Nick Chester has been linked to a senior role at Williams next year.

Chester was a part of Renault through its different guises as Team Enstone as it began at Benetton at the turn of the century. He held various roles as the team switched between the Lotus and Renault identities.

Earlier during the month, Renault announced Chester had begun a period of gardening leave as the team underwent a reshuffle because of its lackluster performance for the 2019 season.

After finishing in fourth place within the constructor’s championship, Renault slipped into the fifth position and was beaten by the engine customer McLaren in 2019, so its aerodynamics were listed as one of the significant problems.

While Chester and the former head of aerodynamics, Peter Machin, have left Renault, the ex-Williams aero chief Dirk de Beer has been brought on board alongside other internal promotions, and another appointment is scheduled for next year.

Williams went through its review following unfortunate results back to back and several setbacks with the 2019 car at the beginning of the year.

Chief technical officer, Paddy Lowe, went on a leave of absence in 2019 and then resigned from the company after several months.

In his absence, William had to rely on many of the senior staff members to step in. For example, there was Adam Carter that handled the design office, Dave Robson, for the trackside operations and deputy principal Claire Williams.

Chester may be a candidate for a technical leadership position, but Williams declined to comment on the matter.

Claire Williams told media outlets before the end of the season their efforts meant the team was not rushing to bring in a technical chief to replace Lowe.

She said the current officials are very calm individuals, and they are aware of what the ambition is and what the team needs to achieve. She also said they were doing everything in their power to do precisely that with the resources available.

She did admit that al teams are always looking at how they can improve on their technical departments because that is where the performance comes from.

She made it very clear the departure of Paddy Lowe did not change things other than the staff want to make the right decisions for Williams.

If that takes time, then it is the right course of action. She reiterated there is no rush, and it is about finding the right person for the job.